A Scribal Corruption and Alteration in Ṣaḥīḥ Ibn Khuzaymah That al-Aʿẓamī and al-Albānī Did Not Notice!
In the printed edition of Ṣaḥīḥ Ibn Khuzaymah (4/95), no. (405), under the chapter: “The virtue of charity over other deeds—if the report is authentic, for I do not know Abū Farwah to be declared reliable or unreliable”, it states:
Muḥammad ibn Rāfiʿ narrated to us, Abū al-Ḥasan al-Naḍr ibn Ismāʿīl narrated to us, from Abū Farwah, who said: I heard Saʿīd ibn al-Musayyib, from ʿUmar ibn al-Khaṭṭāb, that he used to say:
“Indeed, deeds boast over one another, and charity says: ‘I am the best of you.’”
Al-Albānī commented on this narration saying:
“Its chain is weak due to the anonymity of Abū Farwah, and al-Naḍr is weak; moreover, it is mawqūf.”
I say: al-Albānī assumed that al-Naḍr here is al-Naḍr ibn Ismāʿīl, who is weak. However, the al-Naḍr in this narration is actually al-Naḍr ibn Shumayl, the well-known trustworthy narrator, whose kunyah is Abū al-Ḥasan. As for Ibn Ismāʿīl, his kunyah is Abū al-Mughīrah.
Thus, “Shumayl” was corrupted into “Ismāʿīl.”
Another corruption also occurred in the name of his shaykh: it appears as “Abū Farwah,” whereas the correct name is “Abū Qurrah,” the al-Asadī al-Ṣaydāwī, who is unknown.
It appears that this corruption and alteration came from the manuscript copies and not from Ibn Khuzaymah’s original text. This is supported by the fact that al-Ḥāfiẓ Ibn Ḥajar said in Tahdhīb al-Tahdhīb (12/227):
“Abū Qurrah al-Asadī al-Ṣaydāwī, from the people of the desert. He narrated from Saʿīd ibn al-Musayyib from ʿUmar regarding sending prayers upon the Prophet ﷺ in supplication. Al-Naḍr ibn Shumayl narrated from him.
I say: Ibn Khuzaymah included his ḥadīth in his Ṣaḥīḥ and said: ‘I do not know him to be declared reliable or unreliable.’”
Thus, Ibn Khuzaymah mentioned him correctly in his book, but the copies were corrupted—or the editor failed to read them properly. And Allah knows best.
In any case, the report is weak. Abū Qurrah is unknown, and he narrates munkar reports from Saʿīd ibn al-Musayyib. Moreover, Saʿīd did not hear from ʿUmar ibn al-Khaṭṭāb according to the majority, though it is said he heard a few things from him.
Abū Qurrah al-Asadī al-Ṣaydāwī: Unknown and Narrator of Munkar Reports — al-Albānī Declared His Ḥadīth Sound Once and Weak Another Time!
Al-Tirmidhī narrated in al-Jāmiʿ (2/356):
Abū Dāwūd Sulaymān ibn Salm al-Muṣāḥifī al-Balkhī narrated to us, he said: al-Naḍr ibn Shumayl informed us, from Abū Qurrah al-Asadī, from Saʿīd ibn al-Musayyib, from ʿUmar ibn al-Khaṭṭāb, who said:
“Indeed, supplication remains suspended between the heaven and the earth; nothing of it ascends until you send prayers upon your Prophet ﷺ.”
Al-Tirmidhī did not comment on it.
Al-Albānī declared it sound in Ṣaḥīḥ al-Tirmidhī no. (486), and said in Ṣaḥīḥ al-Targhīb no. (1676):
“Sound due to corroborating evidence.”
Yet he contradicted this in al-Irwāʾ (2/177), no. (432), saying:
“Weak and mawqūf.”
I say: Rather, it is munkar!
Biography of Abū Qurrah
Muslim said in al-Kunā wa’l-Asmāʾ (1/695):
“Abū Qurrah al-Asadī, from Saʿīd ibn al-Musayyib. Al-Naḍr ibn Shumayl narrated from him.”
Ibn Abī Ḥātim said in al-Jarḥ wa’l-Taʿdīl (9/427):
“Abū Qurrah al-Asadī al-Ṣaydāwī, from the people of the desert. He heard from Ibn al-Musayyib. Al-Naḍr ibn Shumayl narrated from him. I heard my father say this.”
Al-Dhahabī said in al-Muqtnā fī Sard al-Kunā (2/24):
“Abū Qurrah al-Asadī, a Bedouin: he heard from Ibn al-Musayyib.”
He also said in al-Mughnī fī al-Ḍuʿafāʾ (2/803):
“Abū Qurrah al-Asadī. He narrated in Ṣaydāʾ from Saʿīd ibn al-Musayyib. Unknown.”
He said the same in al-Mīzān, as did Ibn Ḥajar in al-Taqrīb.
Ibn Ḥajar said in Tahdhīb al-Tahdhīb (12/227):
“Ibn Khuzaymah included his ḥadīth in his Ṣaḥīḥ and said: ‘I do not know him to be declared reliable or unreliable.’”
I say: He is unknown and is only known through al-Naḍr’s narration from him. It appears that al-Naḍr encountered him and took from him some narrations which he attributed to Ibn al-Musayyib.
His hearing from Ibn al-Musayyib is not established. What Ibn Abī Ḥātim and al-Dhahabī mentioned earlier—that he heard from him—is questionable.
Yes, Ibn Abī Ḥātim relies on what is in al-Bukhārī’s works, so he may have taken this from al-Bukhārī’s book on kunyahs, and this biography may be among what was lost from what remains of it. This too is debatable, because Imām Muslim also relies on al-Bukhārī, yet he did not mention hearing—and that is the correct view.
Abū Qurrah alone narrated these reports from Saʿīd ibn al-Musayyib, and they are munkar. Where are Saʿīd’s well-known students regarding these reports, such that this Bedouin comes and singularly narrates them?!
His narrations from Saʿīd concern supplication, prayer, charity, and similar topics—as though he heard them from unreliable people and then transmitted them. These are reports that appeal to the general public!
Among these reports are:
What al-Bazzār narrated in his Musnad (1/421) from Muḥammad ibn ʿAlī ibn al-Ḥasan ibn Shaqīq, who said: al-Naḍr ibn Shumayl narrated to us, he said: Abū Qurrah narrated to us, from Saʿīd ibn al-Musayyib, from ʿUmar ibn al-Khaṭṭāb, who said that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said:
“Whoever recites at night: {So whoever hopes for the meeting with his Lord, let him do righteous deeds and not associate anyone in the worship of his Lord}—he will have a light from ʿAdan Abyan to Makkah, filled with angels.”
Al-Bazzār said:
“We do not know this ḥadīth to be narrated from ʿUmar from the Prophet ﷺ except through this chain.”
Ibn Kathīr mentioned it in his Tafsīr (3/111) and said:
“Very strange.”
Al-Ḥākim narrated it in al-Mustadrak (2/402) via Isḥāq ibn Rāhawayh from al-Naḍr, similarly.
Al-Ḥākim said:
“This ḥadīth has a sound chain, and they did not include it.”
I say: Rather, it is extremely munkar!
What Isḥāq ibn Rāhawayh narrated (as in al-Maṭālib al-ʿĀliyah 4/545):
Al-Naḍr ibn Shumayl informed us, he said: Abū Qurrah al-Asadī informed us, he said: I heard Saʿīd ibn al-Musayyib narrating from ʿUmar ibn al-Khaṭṭāb who said:
“There is no person who goes out into an open area of the land, prays two rakʿahs of ḍuḥā, then says: ‘O Allah, to You belongs praise…’ except that Allah forgives him his sins in that sitting, even if they are like the foam of the sea.”
I say: This too is munkar!
What suffices instead is what is in al-Bukhārī and others from the ḥadīth of Shaddād ibn Aws رضي الله عنه regarding Sayyid al-Istighfār.
What Isḥāq ibn Rāhawayh narrated (as in al-Maṭālib al-ʿĀliyah 5/641):
Al-Naḍr ibn Shumayl informed us, he said: Abū Qurrah informed us—from Saʿīd ibn al-Musayyib, from ʿUmar ibn al-Khaṭṭāb رضي الله عنه—who said:
“It has been mentioned to me that deeds boast, and charity says: ‘I am the best of you.’”
Then he said:
ʿUmar رضي الله عنه said: “There is no Muslim who gives charity with two of his wealth except that the gatekeepers of Paradise rush to him.”
I say: This too is munkar and is only known through this reprehensible chain!
The second part is preserved through another route from al-Ḥasan from Ṣaʿṣaʿah ibn Muʿāwiyah from Abū Dharr رضي الله عنه, with the well-known wording.
Conclusion
Abū Qurrah, the Bedouin, is unknown among the scholars, and his narrations from Saʿīd ibn al-Musayyib from ʿUmar are not preserved, have no basis, and are munkar.
Written by: Khālid al-Ḥāyik
17/6/2008